A 61-YEAR-OLD minicab driver who had a miracle escape when he crashed on to the railway track has pleaded guilty to driving dangerously.
Zafir Iqbal's blue Skoda Octavia ended up on its roof after it smashed through a fence and fell on to the line shortly after 9am on April 17 last year.
The vehicle rolled down a steep wooded bank, off a 5ft stone wall and on to the busy commuter line, causing delays for rail travellers.
Iqbal, of Moorview Drive, Bradford Moor, Bradford, who was the only occupant of the AA Carz private hire cab, was treated in Bradford Royal Infirmary for treatment to minor head injuries.
Yesterday, he pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to dangerous driving on Saltaire Road, Shipley.
He denied a second allegation of endangering the safety of a person conveyed by railway by crashing through the barriers and landing upside down on the tracks.
Zafir Iqbal and the crash scene
Fire, police and ambulance crews attended the incident that happened by the Victoria Street bridge over the railway.
No trains were able to come through for around 35 minutes until the badly damaged car had been pulled off the tracks.
Network Rail received a report of a vehicle on the track at 9.15am and, in Bradford, passengers were given an apology for delays at 9.30am at Forster Square station. Disruption lasted for more than two hours.
Iqbal managed to clamber out of the cab and climb up the embankment to safety.
Prosecutor Abigail Langford told the court: "He went through a fence and his vehicle fell on to railway lines holding up many people on the way to work."
Miss Langford said she would have to consult the British Transport Police about whether the plea to dangerous driving was acceptable without the second charge.
She said the case would be opened to the court on the full facts and the charge of endangering safety would be an aggravating feature.
Judge David Hatton QC agreed that the pleas would almost certainly be acceptable and no trial date was set.
Camille Morland, Iqbal's barrister, asked the court to adjourn the case for a report from the probation service.
Judge Hatton extended Iqbal's unconditional bail until the sentencing hearing on April 8.
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